I really appreciate the kind words; the City of Houston and the surrounding areas are down, but we’re sure as hell not out. With regard to your questions…

1. I’m with you; I was shocked at how the Steelers rammed it down Houston’s throat, particularly considering all the questions surrounding the Steelers’ OL (and even moreso after seeing what Philly did to them last weekend). The Texans’ DL, at this point, has to be considered Super Mario & The Three Jokes. Anthony Weaver has done nothing and continues to steal money from Bob McNair. Travis Johnson is a small step above pathetic and should be considered a terrible first-round pick, if not an outright bust. Amobi Okoye, after allegedly having such a great camp and showing flashes of greatness in his rookie season, has been a complete non-factor in two weeks of play. I’m not ready to write Okoye off by any means, as he’s shown enough to make me think he’s going to put it together. Simply put, there’s been no production from anyone but Mario, and that ain’t gonna cut it.

The linebackers are hardly ever allowed to play aggressively (per Richard Smith’s persistent refusal to bring pressure from anywhere but the front four), so they’re making their plays several yards down the field. DeMeco’s been DeMeco, but Morlon Greenwood has been terrible thus far, and Zac Diles hasn’t been anything special.

And don’t get me started on the secondary. It was a problem last year, it was a problem coming into this year, and it’ll remain a problem for the foreseeable future.

2. I wish I knew. For a guy who looked so good last year, he could not look much worse than he has in two games this year. Given his production last year, however, I don’t think it’s time to go to Sage…yet. But if Schaub lays another egg on Sunday, the calls for Rosenfels will be deafening.

3. I’m still a big Kubes fan; the problem, as I see it, is whether he should flex a bit more on the offensive and defensive coordinators. Kyle Shanahan’s learning on the job, so I’m willing to give him some slack. But Richard Smith? Not so much. Kubes is an offensive coach, and I wonder how hands-on he’s been with the defense. I don’t care if Kubes does it, or Ray Rhodes does it, or The Ghost of Vic Fangio does it…someone’s got to demand a more aggressive game plan on that side of the ball.

Picking only one weakness for the Texans on either side of the ball is awfully tough these days. We’ve looked so bad in so many places in the first two games that I could probably write a book the length of “War and Peace” on their weaknesses. That said, I’ll say that the Houston secondary will be the most troublesome part of the defensive effort on Sunday. I know the Jags run, run, and then run some more, but that Texans secondary is there for the taking. They have shown no ability to consistently cover or tackle. I’d go at them early and often to keep us from putting eight in the box.

On offense…I really, really hate saying this, especially with the running game looking so bad on balance since Domanick Davis-Williams-McCain-Obama was released, but QB is the biggest weakness right now. Steve Slaton looked like an above-average RB last week against a very good Titans’ D, whereas Matt Schaub has looked like David Carr the last two (2) weeks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to cry in the dark for awhile.

Oh, and thanks for the review of Houston’s people…it truly is one of the friendliest big cities you’ll ever visit.

Coming into the season, I was bullish on Daniels in real-life and fantasy. He had trouble holding onto the ball a bit and wasn’t targeted as much in the red zone as I thought he would be last year, but he’s a great TE and I thought he’d become a big-time target for Schaub in ‘08. And therein lies the problem—Schaub’s been disgustingly poor this season, and OD’s value is inextricably linked to Schaub’s success to a large degree.

Daniels should continue to be good for 50+ receiving yards every week, but the Texans’ repeated failure to reach and/or succeed in the red zone so far would leave me wary about counting on him too much for TDs right now. I’m praying that turns around, and I think it will. After all, Schaub did look to OD in the end zone last week (though Daniels bobbled the ball away).

Interesting observation about Kubiak appearing to lose it last year at JAC. I can’t disagree, but I will say that I think Kubes was completely justified in doing so. Houston got completely dominated by the Jags in the second half (and in particular the fourth quarter), and I’d bet Kubes was trying to stop the bleeding any way he knew how. In that respect, I’m fine with him losing his cool. Lord knows I was screaming at that point as well.

As I said above, I’m a big Kubes guy. I think he’s got a good grasp of what it takes to be successful in this league, and the guy’s a grinder who strikes me as a leave-no-stone-unturned type. I love that he’s got enough confidence in who he is and the goals of the organization that he’d bring in guys like Alex Gibbs and Ray Rhodes, two experienced coaches who many first-time head coaches could see as threats to their authority. In terms of blind spots, his loyalty and willingness to defer to his DC (Richard Smith) was already thought by many to be a problem last year; that issue is still there and will only become more glaring if the defense doesn’t begin stopping the opposition with some regularity. With regard to in-game weaknesses, Kubes has been absolutely reprehensible when it comes to challenges (though I wonder how much of that is the fault of his eyes in the booth).

All in all, I’m still firmly in his camp. He inherited a 2-14 team, turned it into a 6-10 team, and morphed it into an 8-8 team last year. Although the team’s looked pathetic thus far, Kubes’ track record would seem to indicate that he’ll get it figured out.

‘Dre had great numbers against PIT in Week One, but I’d say 75% of them were picked up in garbage time when PIT went to the most vanilla, low-risk defense imaginable due to the fact that the game was no longer in doubt. He was a complete non-factor in TEN, catching only two (2) passes and dropping two (2) sure TD passes. Some folks observed that it looked like he was sleepwalking through the contest; he definitely didn’t look like himself, but no one seems to question his health. Was it Ike fatigue? Frustration that the team didn’t seem to look for him like they should have? Your guess is as good as mine.

This week, I’d bet Kubes/Lil’ Shanahan try to go to ‘Dre early and often. As you noted, Mathis got used a bit last week and may be ripe for the picking. Throw in the emotional lift a struggling offense would get from a big play or two from their jittery QB and best offensive player, and I think it’s a no-brainer: Get Andre Johnson involved early. Will it work? Man, I hope so.